Bridge Project Delayed Lauderdale Span Far From Completed

April 14, 1989|By ANDREW MARTIN, Staff Writer

FORT LAUDERDALE -- A year late and nearly $100,000 over budget, the Sunrise Boulevard bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway remains months away from completion, continuing to stall traffic and keep customers away from nearby businesses.

Started in 1984, the $8.9 million project to build two three-lane bridges has been plagued by bankruptcies and bad luck.

Florida Department of Transportation officials now hope the project will be completed by September, nearly 15 months late.

State officials included a $2,000-a-day penalty in the construction contract to prevent such delays. However, the prime contractor, Gary, Ind.-based J.M. Foster Inc., has only been assessed $20,000 in penalties to date.

Bob Bourdon, construction engineer for the the state road agency`s Fort Lauderdale office, said many delays were caused by problems that Foster officials could not control. For instance, two key subcontractors went out of business and another never showed up to work, he said.

``All of this happening to one contractor on one specific job is unusual,`` Bourdon said. ``The job itself has gone fairly smoothly, with the exception of these problems he`s run into.``

However, Foster may be assessed more fines for the delays before the project is finished, he said.

Jack Dee, vice president of J.M. Foster, said, ``We`ve run into delays beyond our control.`` He would not elaborate or comment further.

Construction, combined with periodic openings of the south span, has caused near-gridlock conditions in the area, especially during the height of the tourist season.

Four narrow lanes of traffic going in two directions have been squeezed onto the south span of the bridge, which will carry three eastbound lanes once the project is completed.

However, that situation is a vast improvement. Before April 1987, construction had funneled traffic to just one lane in each direction on the bridge.

``The first three years, it was terrible,`` said Russ Griggs of Thompson Car Rentals, located just east of the bridge.

Business owners say the construction makes it difficult for motorists and pedestrians to reach shops. Business has been off by as much as 50 percent along the once-bustling corridor just west and north of the bridge.

``When I came here nine years ago, this was a busy street. Every store was like a diamond,`` said Irwin Berlin, owner of Classic Gifts in the Sunrise Bay Shopping Center. ``As you can see, the whole area is dilapidated. We`ve lost an awful lot of tenants. (The construction) has completed stopped growth in this area.``

Bill Donovan, owner of Sunrise Bay Jewelers, said, ``I don`t know how any of us in this block have stayed in business. There is nobody walking in this plaza, not even in the tourist season.``

Before construction began, there were entrances to the shopping center at both ends. Now, access is limited to the west entrance, and then only by threading through a parking lot cluttered with construction equipment and debris.

It`s even more difficult for pedestrians.

Construction has closed the sidewalk on the north side of the Intracoastal bridge. That means the only way to get to the Sunrise Bay Center is to cross the Intracoastal, then busy Sunrise Boulevard.

``No one wants to walk here,`` said Evelyn Donahoe of Cosmetics by Merle Norman. ``There`s too much dirt.``

Donahoe said her business is down nearly 50 percent. Like other store owners, she said she will not move because she has a loyal group of customers.

The construction woes are not confined to the Sunrise Bay Center. On the east side of the Intracoastal, four of six shops in a strip on the south side of Sunrise are vacant.

``They put up two major hotels in this town in the time they took to put up this bridge,`` said Griggs of Thompson Car Rentals, one of the remaining businesses.